How Does Stress Affect the Mind & Body?

Stress can be very destructive. It can disguise itself as something benign (i.e. stomachaches, back pain, stress eating) and can easily make you believe that you are just in a rut, nothing serious…

Well, that is not the case.

Stress can cause a lot of problems with regards to your physical and mental wellbeing. But, what exactly is it about stress that can lead so many people to breakdowns, heart attacks and strokes?

The degree of how stress affects the mind and body of one person may be different for you.

What you consider severely stressful could only be a mild irritation for another. People are wired differently and it is not your fault if you cannot handle something or conversely leave emotionally unscathed. That is just the way you are.

Stress affects the mind and body in many different ways. The physical and the psyche are closely connected when it comes to stress. Stress can affect the mind and body separately but some the stress related symptoms are innately connected. An example of this is stress induced overeating and binge eating.

It may seem like a psychological symptom at the start, but it can later on cause obesity, heart problems and even diabetes.

In what other ways does stress affect the mind and body? Stress can make you irritable, moody, less patient, and it can lead to a short and fiery temper.

At the same time, it can also lead to lack of concentration and a slowed response to stimuli. Stress may even cause problems with memory recall. It can also give you a feeling of uncertainty and even doom. All these can build up and increase your anxiety level.

These mental symptoms caused by stress can also affect your physical body. You can experience hypertension, increased heart rate, rapid breathing, profuse sweating, diarrhea, indigestion and so much more. You may also get stress related hives, rashes, dandruff and acne. Some people even experience hair loss.

Some of the ways that stress affects the mind and body may seem inconsequential. ‘After all’, you say “Everybody gets diarrhea and stomachache” or “I could deal with dandruff and breakouts easily.”

But what if you are dealing with the serious ways that stress can affect the mind and body? What if you experience a heart attack or a stroke just because you let yourself become too stressed out? What then? Before that happens, you need to put a stop to it and manage your stress levels as soon as possible.

The fact is, controlling your daily stress is way easier than you might imagine. When you know the exact formula and exercises for ending stress and anxiety, you can simply go through the motions and be confident that you’ll feel immediate stress relief in seconds.